Music Box Rescues Nanni Moretti’s ‘Mia Madre’ From Alchemy

Another feature title is saved in the wake of Alchemy’s financial woes. Music Box Films has acquired U.S. rights to Nanni Moretti’s Mia Madre, the Italian comedy from last year’s Cannes Film Festival that Alchemy snapped up. Mia Madre will now be released during the third quarter.

The pic stars John Turturro as divo thespian Barry Higgins, the headache for his female director (Margherita Buy), who’s trying to balance the movie she’s making with the chaos in her life. Mia Madre won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes. It has already been released overseas where its highest box office territories were Italy ($3.6M) and France ($2.1M).

Earlier this year Deadline learned that Alchemy, following its acquisition of distributors ANconnect and Anderson Digital, found itself in a financial pickle, unable to release a number of titles they acquired at various festivals.

The Mia Madre deal was negotiated between Music Box Films’ president William Schopf and Films Distribution co-head Nicolas Brigaud-Robert.

Other recent Music Box pickups include The Brand New Testament, Seasons, the Swedish adaptation of the bestselling novel A Man Called Ove, Anne Fontaine’s The Innocents and the Sundance title Norman Lear: Just Another Version Of You.